When did you grow up?
by Cypher67
Summary: Bonnie is having the butterflies. For her best friend's little brother. And she doesn't really like it... at first...


**When did you grow up?**

**All characters belong to the CW, I'm just playing with them (I promise to keep it nice).**

**Reviews are nice, positive reviews are awesome!**

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'Do you want a ride home?' Jeremy asked her with a small grin playing around his lips. Bonnie looked at his face as if he had just proposed to dance around naked.

'When did you even get your license?' she asked him playfully. Jeremy chuckled. Apparently she still hadn't realized that he wasn't the little Gilbert boy anymore. He had grown up, and he hoped that one day people wouldn't see him as Elena Gilbert's little brother anymore.

'I'm not a little kid anymore, Bonnie. So how about that ride?' he kept his voice light, and the smile was still resting on his face. His grown up, maturing, handsome face, Bonnie thought. Wow… where did that thought just come from.

'I would love a ride.' Her reply was a few seconds late, but Jeremy didn't seem to notice. Bonnie walked to the passenger side of the car, and climbed in. Jeremy got behind the wheel and started driving. Bonnie couldn't stop looking at him from the corner of her eye. He really _had_ grown up a lot over the last few months. The entire history with Vikki, and later Anna forced him to leave his relaxed childhood behind him, and made him become this young man, this hero who would go to extreme lengths to protect the ones he loves and cares for. But it wasn't just his exterior that had changed (although it was seemingly undeniable that his shoulders were broader, his jawline had matured and his eyes showed that he had been through a lot lately), he wasn't the loner from before anymore. Jeremy was more outgoing, not that he would be the first to mingle on a social event, but still… He'd do anything for Elena, and apparently, he wasn't at all afraid of Damon. Sometimes it even looked like he'd only be there to provoke the older Salvatore brother. She kind of liked that about him. But when she came to think of it, that wasn't the only thing she appeared to like about Jeremy. But then, what was not to like about the young man he had become. Jeremy Gilbert was no boy anymore, not at all…

'Are you okay?' Jeremy asked suddenly. Bonnie needed a few seconds to assess the new question.

'What? Me? Yeah, I'm fine.' She said, hoping that her drifting thoughts wouldn't have been noticed.

'Good. That's good.' Jeremy grinned, his eyes still fixes on the dark road ahead of them. Bonnie turned her head sideways to look at him._ 'God he's really hot!_' She thought, and immediately she shook her head, trying to get that thought out of her head. Jeremy was her best friend's younger brother. She just couldn't have those kind of ideas about him. She just couldn't.

'Why is that good?' she asked, her voice a bit shaking, but the man next to her didn't seem to notice.

'Because you have been staring straight ahead for about ten minutes now, constantly looking at your left. At me.' Jeremy still had that playful grin on his lips. _Darn, he did notice._

'I wasn't staring. I was… distracted. It has been a long night, and I'm just glad it's over.'

'Yeah, So am I.' Jeremy agreed. In the meantime, they had arrived at Bonnie's place.

'Thank you from the ride, Jeremy.' She smiled while getting out of the vehicle. Jeremy smiled back.

'It was my pleasure. You sure you are okay?' he asked again. Bonnie nodded.

'I'm sure, but I wouldn't mind some company, if you have the time… My parents are out of town for the weekend, and since Grams died, I'm alone here. And I don't really feel like being alone right now.' To Jeremy it seemed as If Bonnie was a bit embarrassed to admit that she didn't want to be alone. But what else could he do but agree to stay with her just a little bit longer.

'I can understand that, and I certainly do have some spare time. So yeah, I'd love to keep you company.' Jeremy got out of the car, locked up and followed Bonnie to the front door. Once inside, he slid his coat off, and walked after the young woman into the living room.

'Take a seat, I'll get us some drinks.' Jeremy sat down, and Bonnie went to the kitchen. From where she was standing at the counter, pouring soda in two glasses, she could see him sitting on the couch. In nothing he resembled the boy she used to know. He had changed overall. Even his style of clothing had advanced. The dark hoodies had made room for tighter shirts, the kind that showed Jeremy had grown stronger and more muscular. The baggy pants were replaced by slimmer jeans, fitting him perfectly and making sure his legs looked longer than they already were, and that's to say nothing about his butt…  
Even his hair was longer now, and he stopped trying to get it in a certain model. Now it hung nonchalantly around his face, being perfectly messy. Jeremy Gilbert had grown up, and it had all gone past her. She started looking at him with different eyes, totally different eyes. '_Stop it! He's Elena's brother!'_ She mentally punished herself.  
She took a deep breath, straightened her hair, took both glasses in her hands, en returned to the living room where Jeremy was already waiting for her.

She took a place right beside him, still leaving enough space between them so they wouldn't touch… at all. Minutes passed in silence, but it was no awkward time, it was comfortable in an unexpected way.

'You were great tonight.' Jeremy suddenly stated. Bonnie turned a bit reddish, but because of the dim light, Jeremy couldn't possibly have seen that.

'You weren't so bad yourself.' Great, that might have been the stupidest reply in human history. She took another sip of her soda.

'I meant what I said earlier, Bonnie,' Jeremy continued. A shiver went down her spine when she heard the sound of her name leave his lips.  
'The things you can do, that's amazingly cool. I've always known you are totally kick ass!' the well-known grin was back in place on his face.

'Thanks.' She muttered, looking down. Bonnie really didn't know why things had suddenly become so awkward. Well, awkward… for her anyway. Jeremy seemed totally at ease. Yet, Bonnie still couldn't get her head around the fact that he had grown up so fast. It was as if he was a totally different person, although, he was still the same, just handsome and cute at the same time.  
'_Oh dear…' _Bonnie thought, she must stop thinking things like that. Jeremy was a year younger than her, and her best friend's brother, for crying out loud!  
Silence continued between the two friends, and Bonnie turned on the TV. _Planet of the Apes_ was on, and both Bonnie and Jeremy were happy to watch something vampire-free.

'Nice… Mark Wahlberg is in it.' Bonnie stated, smiling.

'Oh, so is he your type, or something?' Jeremy tried to sound nonchalant, and according to himself, he failed, but Bonnie didn't notice at all.

'Yes, I mean… he used to be. Now not so much anymore.' She replied, looking into the boy's dark brown, bambi eyes.

Jeremy couldn't stop glancing at the beautiful young woman next to him. He threw stolen looks in her direction, hoping that she wouldn't notice. She was his sister's best friend, someone who had always seen him as little Jeremy, loner Jeremy, and sadly stoner Jeremy. He hoped he could prove that he no longer was that person he used to be.  
He noticed that Bonnie was slowly falling asleep. A grin crept around his mouth, as he kept watching her. Somewhere during the evening, they had moved a bit closer to each other. The young woman next to him started dozing off, and her head softly landed on Jeremy's shoulder. He should have woken her up, and tell her to go to sleep, or he could pick her up, and bring her upstairs himself. But all Jeremy wanted was staying there, on the couch, next to Bonnie. He let his own head rest on top of hers. Jeremy smiled.  
He looked at his watch and saw it was 2.30am already. With a chuckle he realized that Elena must have covered for him, otherwise his aunt Jenna would have probably killed him through his mobile.

Slowly he rose from the sofa and picked Bonnie up in his arms. She nuzzled closer to him, refusing to let go of him. At that point, the young man didn't want to let go of her anymore. If his legs would allow, he'd stand there all night long, with the girl in his arms. Slowly and as careful as possible, he walked up the stairs, suddenly being happy that his mum had sent him in the house often enough to get Elena out. He remembered the way to her room with his eyes closed.  
When he got upstairs, he turned right, into a long hallway, decorated with all kinds of photos of Bonnie and her family. He kept on walking till he reached the final door on his left. With Bonnie still in his arms, he opened the door with his elbow.  
The room he entered, was painted in a faint yellow, with big green leaves on them. On the walls there were various pictures of Bonnie, mostly with Elena and Caroline, some even with Matt, and her grandmother. His eye caught a picture lying on her desk, a photo of her and Elena, with Jeremy himself pressed in between the two girls.  
_'Oh man, when the hell did this happen?' _ he asked himself. He shook the image off and walked over to the bed.  
The dark haired girl had put her arms around him, not wanting to let go. Her head rested against his chest, and Jeremy's chin lay on top of her hair.  
Gently he tried to put her down on the bed, a task that appeared to be more difficult than initially expected. Bonnie simply refused to let go.  
The young man took his arms from under her, trying to get free from her grip.

'Don't go.' She whispered, seemingly still asleep.

'I won't .' Jeremy said once he had realized that she wasn't awake. Now she released him, but when he tried to put a step back, she gripped his hand tight. Her eyes were open.

'Don't leave me, please don't leave.' She murmured. She looked straight at him, but didn't see him.  
Jeremy crouched down next to the bed and stroked Bonnie's hair.

'I'm not going anywhere.' He whispered. His other hand was still being held by the scared girl.

'Good. That's good.' Her dark eyes closed again, and peacefully she drifted off to sleep. Her grip on his hand weakened, and Jeremy grabbed that chance to pull a blanket over her body.

He couldn't possibly stay the night with her, could he? No, that would be immoral. It would be taking advantage of someone very important to him, and he couldn't do that. Not ever. She probably didn't realize what she had said to him, or who she had said it to.  
After Jeremy had made sure she was asleep, he made his way back downstairs, cleaning up the glasses. Silently he left the Bennett house and made his way back to his own place.  
He made a mental note to thank Elena for covering for him.

When he got to bed, he fell asleep with a smile on his face. He kept hoping that Bonnie had seen that other side of him, the more mature side of him. The dark girl meant so much more to him than a few months ago, and they hadn't even gotten that much closer to each other. Sometimes Jeremy didn't even know how, when and why his feelings towards his sister's best friend had changed, but one thing was sure: he liked Bonnie. He liked her a lot.  
She had gone through some major changes; the loss of her grams, the discovery of her abilities, and the fact that she would have to cope with Damon Salvatore on a practically daily basis. Vampires had taken her special person away from her. Well, not vamps directly, but she died because of a major spell to free Katherine from her tomb (even though she wasn't even in it, they found out afterwards). And now Caroline was one of them too. Bonnie had to go through a hard time on her own. And now the Gilbert boy wanted to be there for her. He didn't want her to have to do those things alone.

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The next morning arrived way too fast and far too loud.

'Where the hell have you been!' Elena shouted at him, still in a whispering tone. Aunt Jenna couldn't find out he wasn't at home, otherwise he might be grounded till pigs can fly.  
Elena was wide awake, almost blazing like an angry bull (figuratively speaking). Jeremy still was asleep, going over everything that had happened the night before.

'Say what?' he asked drowsily. Elena's eyes could have shot fire, but Jeremy was too tired to notice, or care.

'Jer, I have been worried about you. I haven't seen you anymore after the thing at the masquerade ball. Where did you go? I tried to call you, but your phone kept going straight to voicemail!' Elena sounded really worried. Jeremy sat up in his bed.

'I'm sorry, Elena. But I'm fine. How are you? I mean, does it still hurt?' In all the commotion he had totally forgotten that his sister got terribly hurt, seeing that she and Katherine had been connected through a spell cast by a cousin of Bonnie's.

'I'm perfectly fine. But that's not the point, and stop changing the subject. You're not getting away with this. Not this time. Jenna will kill you if she finds out you've been out so late.'

'I know! That's why I'm happy you didn't tell her. I mean it, Elena, you might have saved my life.' He smiled. His older sister seemed to ease up a bit.

'That's because you saved my life earlier. Really, Jer, without you and Bonnie, I might have died yesterday.' Elena sat down In front of him and took his hand in hers.  
They shared a look of understanding, something that only the two of them would know.  
Jeremy hoped that the older Gilbert sibling would drop the subject on his whereabouts the other evening. Sadly for him, she wouldn't…

'So, where have you been after saving my life, mister big time hero?' she did loosen up a bit about it though, but she just wouldn't let it go.

'I gave Bonnie a ride home, and I kept driving for a while. I needed to… clear my head.' The fact that Elena had been talking about something else for a while gave him the chance to come up with a suitable excuse for his absence.

'Have you? Well then…' Elena started, not really knowing what she should say. 'Next time try not to make it that late. I won't cover for you every time, you hear me?'  
Jeremy put his thumbs up, showing that he wouldn't let it happen again.  
Elena stood up from her spot at the end of his bed and left, leaving Jeremy alone with his thoughts. The young man laid back down, staring at that white ceiling, as if he hoped to find a solution for his crazy thoughts up there.  
He couldn't get Bonnie out of his mind. She kept wandering through his brain, and through his entire being.

Two days had passed before Bonnie had gathered the courage to visit Elena. Even when she drove towards the oh so familiar Gilbert residence, she had to keep thinking that everything would be okay, that Jeremy wouldn't even be at home, that he'd probably be at the boarding house, mastering some evil masochistic plan to kill ruthless vamps. Damon's fault, simple as that.

She stood at the front door, inhaled deeply, and rang the bell. It took only seconds before her call was answered.

'Elena, how've… you're not Elena…' Bonnie blurted when not her best friend, but her younger brother opened the door.

'Well, how perceptive of you. What gave me away?' Jeremy asked jokingly. Damn, that grin on his face was way too disarming. Bonnie gave herself a mental nudge. She was there to check up on her best friend, not to stalk Jeremy. Although, the latter seemed like a likeable option at that time.

'Sorry, is Elena home?' Bonnie asked, a bit more blunt than she had intended. She felt sorry the moment the words rolled of her tongue, but she just couldn't make it up to him right now, not just now.

'Yeah, she's upstairs.' Jeremy didn't seem as cheerful anymore. The smile was still on his lips, but his eyes had stopped laughing.

'Thanks.' The dark girl whispered as she walked past him, and ran up the stairs and into the safety of Elena's room.

Had he imagined it all? Did she still see him as the little Gilbert boy she used to annoy, and who used to annoy her and her friends. How could he have been so wrong.  
Jeremy Gilbert was sick and tired of being treated like a kid. He had hoped that after yesterday at least Bonnie would have a changed view.  
Caroline saw him as an adult, and so did Damon, although Damon wouldn't go easy on anyone (With Damon it's always 'take it in or leave the room'. Stefan was still all in when it was about protecting him and keeping him safe, but that was just to make sure Elena wouldn't kill him.

But the one person who needed to see him as an adult, still couldn't get over the fact that he was one year younger. One silly, forgettable year. Not even the full 365 days.  
He decided to get some fresh air. The dark haired boy wrote a note that he'd be home by dinner and put it on the dinner table.  
He grabbed his coat and walked out the door, not really knowing where he would go to.

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A little over an hour later he found himself at the Salvatore boarding house, playing 'who am I?'* with Caroline, who ended up figuring out she was Zorro.  
'Well, aren't we having fun?' Damon said sarcastically when he entered the enormous living room.

'Shut up, Damon.' Caroline and Jeremy answered in unison.

'Ow, defensive. Don't worry, children, I'll be out of your hair in a minute, after a much needed refill.'

'Dude… booze? In the afternoon?' Jeremy stated with a post-it on his forehead saying that he was Pikachu, always happy to annoy the crap out of the oldest vampire brother.

'Well yes, I need it to survive Stefan's moral lectures I've been getting all… day… long…' he explained himself while walking out of the room again.

'Have you talked to Bonnie?' Caroline suddenly asked, like that, without any warning. Jeremy nearly choked in his soda.

'Bonnie? Why would I talk to Bonnie?' he tried.

'Oh come on, Jer. I've seen you look at her with those big sad puppy eyes. Don't you try to lie to me. I know you to well.' The pretty blonde girl winked at him. It was pointless to lie to hear. One way or the other, she'd find out whatever it was she wanted to know. That's just who Caroline is…

'Yeah, I've seen her today.' He said. Caroline kept looking at him, as saying to continue.

'That's all. I saw her, she asked for Elena, and I left the house.' Caroline tilted her head.

'Jeremy, what's holding you back? I used to know you as a guy who'd do anything to reach his goal.' The blonde vampire smiled at him. Jeremy couldn't help but smile back. At least she didn't say he was a boy.

'Care, she's my sister's best friend. She's a year older. And she still sees me as the boy I used to be.'

'Oh, okay. Well, I can help you with those facts. First: the sis' best friends thing, don't worry about that. At least Elena will like her. Secondly: older… trust me, Jer, in a few years' time that one year won't make a difference. And finally: No one could possibly still see you as the boy you were. I mean, look in a mirror, man! You've outgrown us, even Stefan is shorter than you are, and he's like, tall! And you're broader and more muscular than you used to be. A _boy_ is the last thing you are. Even Bonnie will have noticed that.

'Thanks, Care. It's your turn for a question.' The human smiled.

'Ahum… am I American? Oh, hey Bonnie.' She grinned as she looked at a point directly behind Jeremy, who turned around slowly.

'Hey Bonnie.' Jeremy said too. He really didn't want things to get awkward between them.

'Hey Caroline, Jeremy. I just came by to check on the vampire update. Do we already know who's after Elena?' she asked, avoiding to look at Jeremy.

'No, not yet, but the Salvatores are looking into it right now.

'Take a seat, I'll go check how they are. Ric could be here any minute as well.' With a wink in the direction of Jeremy she left the room, leaving him and Bonnie alone.

'How've you been?' Jeremy asked.

'I've been… okay. How about you?' Bonnie replied, but Jeremy could see in her eyes that she was far from okay.

'Fine. Got to warn you though, Damon is very… cheerful today.'

'Oh djeez… maybe it wasn't such a good idea to come over…' Bonnie was already glaring at the backdoor. Jeremy sat up straight on the couch.

'No, I don't mean that. I mean… I'm glad you're here.' The smile on his face made Bonnie all warm and fuzzy inside. All she wanted was to go and sit next to him, very close next to him. _Wait a minute… not those thoughts again. _There went another mental budge. How could she keep thinking about little Jeremy like that? HE was still the boy she knew, sitting there in his perfect dark jeans, and his V-neck shirt and his leathery jacket and his messy hair just perfectly messy, and his pretty eyes, and his cute smile, and those lips… oh man, Bonnie was a goner. And she decided she had to get over it.

'I still haven't thanked you for the other night.' She started. The girl walked towards the sofa and sat down next to Jeremy, looking at her hands.

'No problem.' He smiled, but Bonnie continued.

'Seriouly, you didn't have to keep me company, or bring me to bed. Or even give me a ride home.' She explained.

'Honestly, Bonnie, it was my pleasure.' Jeremy stated, he had turned his body so that he could face her.  
'Besides, Elena would have killed me if I had just let you stand there.' He grinned.

'I still want to thank you, Jeremy, you are an amazing friend. A bit like…' she doubted if she had to continue. Jeremy's eyes had already widened at the word 'friend'.  
'You're… you're like the little brother I've never had.' Boom, she did it. She could see it in his eyes, in the way he sat on the couch. She had killed all his hopes at once. But it was for the best, now they could go back to the more distant zone of comfort that used to rule between them.

At that moment Caroline and Damon dabbled back inside.

'Hey guys, what have you been up to?' Caroline asked, smiling her million dollar smile.

'Nothing really. Just… talked a bit. How about you?' Bonnie said, looking at Jeremy, who avoided her gaze.

'Trying to find a way to save your human backsides.' Damon grinned. Arrogance on legs had walked in.

'Great, thank you Damon, for being so considerate.' Jeremy sneered. It sounded harder than he had intended, but then again, Damon could handle it.

'Wow, Gilbert boy is growing claws… or fangs… whatever floats your boat.'

'You don't have a copyright on sarcasm.' He answered the oldest vampire.

'Sadly… I might have to change that, though.' Damon walked over to the bar and poured himself a glass of bourbon, while giving Caroline a new portion of A+.

'Care, that looks really gross.' Jeremy said with a disgusted face as the blonde vampire came to sit at his other side. She had clearly noticed the obvious distance between Bonnie and Jeremy, but she didn't mention anything… out loud.

'To you maybe, to me this is Christmas, Thanksgiving and my birthday all at once!' she winked at him. Jeremy couldn't stop himself from laughing.

'Now then, Hot stuff, what did you find out on that little errand of yours?' Caroline came to sit a little bit closer and she laid her hand on his knee. Bonnie looked at it with wide eyes, while Caroline pretended to be all eyes on Jeremy.

'I found the book you were looking for, but I still don't understand how it can help you. It's basically a crazy old ancestor of mine telling tales.'

'Well, it might seem so, but Stefan is sure it can help. I'll bring it to him.' Caroline suggested.

'No, that's fine, I'll hand it over right now, I have to ask him something anyway.' Jeremy shrugged it off. He stood up and left the room in one fluent motion.

'You two seem close.' Caroline noticed with the look of conspiracy in her eyes.

'I could say the same about you, Caroline.' Bonnie replied. A small smile played around her lips, but it was not genuine.

'Oh come on Bonnie. Jer and I are friends. Close friends, but more than that will never ever happen. Don't worry.' Caroline seemed oblivious of the emotions in her friend's eyes.

'I don't worry. Really. He and I are friends as well.'  
The blonde looked at the dark haired girl with amazement written all over her face.

'Okay… I believe you, when pigs can fly.' Caroline darted out of the room, leaving Bonnie and her confusion alone in the room. She started thinking. She had blown Jeremy off, and not even in an honest way. She had lied to him, and now she felt bad about it. Something like that he had not deserved. There was something Bonnie didn't dare to admit, not even to herself: she was afraid of the way Jeremy made her feel. The young woman had grown used to the fact that she was self-assured, that she knows what her goal is and that she will go straight at it. But with him, all things were different. She started doubting herself.  
Her lips curved when she thought about the way he wore his suit at the masquerade, about how he scratches the back of his head when he's nervous, how he could look at her.

'Hey…' she suddenly heard a soft voice. Jeremy had come back.

'Hey… I, euh… I got to go.' Bonnie said. She really needed to think about what had happened lately, about Jeremy.

'Sure, but you can't ignore me.' He said. Bonnie's eyes widened. Jeremy just stood right in front of her, smirking his million dollar smile.

'Oh yes I can.' She replied. Dammit, that wasn't what she wanted to say.

'Maybe you can, but not for long. If you are going to try to ignore me, then I'll be the guy you can't stop looking at. Whenever you'll try to be serious around me, I'll be the one to make you laugh, even though you'll hate yourself for it,' Jeremy said softly. Shivers ran over Bonnie's spine.  
Jeremy came closer and stopped right in front of her, looking down to meet her eyes. He raised his hand to put a stray of hair behind the young woman's ear.

'and when I kiss you,' he said, 'I'll mean it.' He looked at her lips, and for a split second, Bonnie really believed he was actually going to kiss her. But then he smiled, turned at his heels and left.

Bonnie exhaled a breath she didn't even knew she was holding. How come Jeremy, little cute Jeremy who was insecure about absolutely everything, had become this self-assured, grown up, sexy man? When the hell did this happen? She had to sit down before her legs gave out. Damn he was making it hard on her.

Outside, Jeremy sighed with a smile on his face. Things must be very clear right now. At least she knew what he felt. And he was sure there was something between them.

'Great job, hot shot!' Caroline whispered when she came to stand behind him.

'Have you been eavesdropping, miss Forbes?' Jeremy asked, still smiling. Caroline looked at him with her bambi eyes wide open.

'Wow, Jeremy. I like the sound of that. You should be lucky you're not my type, otherwise I would be all over you right now.' The blonde vampire stated.

'Oh don't overreact, Care.' Jeremy tried to wave it away, but the girl continued.

'No I mean it! You have become this... hot young man. I bet you can get every girl you set your eyes on.' She winked, putting an arm around his waist. 'oah, and firm as well!' she said when her other hand laid on his stomach.

'Stop it!' Jeremy grinned as a donkey. He tried to slap Caroline's hand away from his stomach, but she didn't let go that easily'

'Ticklish are we? Ha! I found the weak spot.' She laughed while using her superhuman vampire speed to keep tickling him.

'Okay okay, stop stop! I surrender!' he giggled. Caroline let go of him.

'You big kid!'

'I'm adorable, and you love it.' Jer grinned. He put his arm around her and together they walked off.  
Bonnie looked at the scene from behind the living room window. They hadn't seen her, but she didn't really like what she saw. '_Darn Bonnie, first you blow him off, then you're getting all jealous of one of your best friends!' _she told herself.

'I think your puppy just walked away with Blondie.' Damon said when he entered the room where Bonnie was mentally punishing herself.

'Oh go screw yourself.' She bit back. Damon did his usual eye-thing, soon realizing that it didn't work on Bonnie.

'Feisty.' Damon poured himself another whiskey.

'And dangerous. Don't forget I can make you cry like a baby if I want to.' Bonnie had an evil kind of grin on her face, causing Damon to stop in his tracks.

'But you won't.' he teased. Bonnie closed her eyes a bit and focused on Damon's head.

'Wow, wowwow! Alright, I'll behave!' he said immediately, raising his hands as if to calm her down.

'Big baby. I wasn't even doing anything.' Bonnie left the house and drove home.

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The following day Bonnie went to the grill, where she paid Matt a visit. He was working, but whenever he could spare a moment, he sat with her, listening to her stories. She in her turn, listened to all the funny things he told her. Matt was in the middle of a story about a drunk teen who'd fallen of his chair on time, when he looked at a point behind Bonnie.

'Oh hey Jer! How've you been?' Matt laughed.

'I've been alright, you?' he replied, still standing.

'Fine. Take a seat, I'll be back in a minute.' Matt left for the back room.

Jeremy came closer and when he took a seat, his fingers grazed the skin of her arm. Goosebumps raised all over her body. Despite everything, she kept looking straight ahead, hoping that Matt would return really fast.

'Say, Bon, if you keep looking like that, you might win yourself a place in the _Victor Garber club for people who can look serious and cute at the same time_.' Jeremy whispered in his ear. Bonnie put all her effort in hiding her smile, but she failed miserably.  
Jeremy started folding origami birds with the napkin on the bar, and Bonnie had to keep looking at the speed his fingers had. A sly grin lay on the young man's face.  
By now she had had enough.

'I have to go. Tell Matt I'll drop by later.' With those words she left, but only after Jeremy had managed to slip one of the birds in her hands.

When Jeremy got home from the Grill, Elena was already waiting for him.

'Hello, brother dearest. Since you've been working for Damon, you won't mind doing a little errand for me, would you?' she said in her sweetest, most manipulative voice.

'Elena, I was really hoping on a night in.' he tried, but deep down he knew resistance is futile.

'Please, pretty please.' Brother and sister both shared the same puppy eyes, and they both knew when and how to use 'em.

'Alright, I'll do it. What has to go where anyway?' he then asked.

'Well, this book here, has to go to Bonnie's. I'd do it myself, but Caroline and I have things to do. So thank you Jer, I owe you!' Elena smiled at him. The younger sibling didn't even get a chance to object to the destination of the packet. So there was nothing else to do, than to pack his things and leave to go to Bonnie's place, a location he was really trying to avoid that day, and the days following.

He knocked on the door and secretly hoped no one was home. But alas, a voice inside yelled: 'I'm coming, hang on a minute!' Only seconds later, the door flew open and a worked up Bonnie was standing in front of him.

'Hey,' Jeremy said, 'Elena asked me to drop this off.' He continued, without any hidden messages.

'Oh… okay. Come on in.' she suggested. Jeremy accepted and followed her inside.

'Bonnie…'  
'Jeremy…' they said at the same time.

'You go first.' Jeremy grinned.

'Okay then. I just wanted to say that I don't want things to be awkward between us. You've helped me a lot, and you've been a true friend. I don't want to lose you.' She told him. Jeremy sighed.

'That was about the same thing I wanted to say to you. I like how things used to be between us. Everything was so comfortable, and I loved how we could talk and stuff.'

'Great! Then… why don't we leave everything behind us, and just hang out. I have a lousy chick flick and there's lasagna in the oven. What do you say?' she smiled at him, and it was a smile that left him defenseless. He couldn't do anything than accept the offer.

Bonnie was still doubting if she had made the right decision. What Jeremy did to her, was more than just plain friendship. She wasn't sure hanging out together was wise, but they need to get comfortable again, otherwise everyone would know something was off.

The pair of them sat at the table, enjoying the home made dinner, and laughing over things that had happened when they were a lot younger. Afterwards, they also did the dishes, still enjoying themselves. For a moment, it was as if nothing had changed. Bonnie was standing at the counter, when Jeremy had to walk behind her to put his towel away. Accidentally his chest brushed her back and he stopped right behind her, breathing her in, waiting for her to either move away or to stay put. Bonnie closed her eyes, still deciding what she should to. The man behind her put his hands on her upper arms, but then she shook her hand and walked away from him.

'I'm sorry, Jer.' She blurted out before she ran upstairs to her room. Jeremy put his fists on the counter, looking down. He blew it. He blew it again!  
He let Bonnie upstairs for a few minutes, but he had to follow her, he had to talk to her.  
Silently he walked up the stairs. He followed the sound of footsteps and ended up at Bonnie's door. Gently he pushed it open, and he found her, pacing through her room. When she heard him come in, she went to sit on her bed.

'I'm sorry Jer, but I just don't want to be playing games. I told you I wanted to go back to when things were comfortable, but…'

'Bonnie, wait, let me explain…' Jeremy interrupted her. He came to sit opposite of her and started talking.  
'I know. I know what I said, and I know I want us to be comfortable as well, but I can't pretend that everything is okay. I'm not here to play games. I'm serious. When I told you I would make you laugh, I meant it. I love to see you smile.' Her reached for her hand, but Bonnie's reflexes were faster. As fast as lightening she jumped up and walked towards the window.

'You're Elena's little brother.' She said, more to herself than to the young man who was sitting on her bed.

'I'm taller than she is.' He joked, but Bonnie didn't laugh.

'You know what I mean. And besides, I can't drag anyone in to the mess I'm in.' now things became clear.

'Hey, you don't have to do this on your own, you know. And besides, I'm already in this mess. I want Katerine to pay. It's just as much my fight as it is yours.' He stood up, and step by step he walked closer. Only when he was right behind here, he stood still. Once again, he put his hands on her upper arms, but this time, she didn't move.

'I'm not here to play games.' His voice was a mere whisper. Shivers went through her body, and the hairs on the back of her neck raised.

His fingertips raked up and down her arms. Before she even realized it, she leaned into him, allowing their bodies to touch.

'Jeremy…' she whispered, ready to object.

'Tell me,' he started, 'why are you doubting?' he asked.  
'Is it because I'm younger? Or because I'm Elena's brother?'

'No… I mean, it was, but not anymore.'

'Than what is it?' his voice was calm, and his fingers kept tracing her arms, her neck, and a little part of her back.

'It's just… when I'm around you, I'm afraid. I'm afraid I'm not strong enough. I'm afraid for what you do to me.'

'Bonnie, you are one of the strongest people I know. You can make Damon cry, and there aren't many people who can say that! You don't have to be afraid of anything, least of all me! I hate to see you hurting.'

'Still, all this witchcraft, it's dangerous, and it's something I have to do alone.' she stated, but Jeremy could hear the pain and the sadness in her voice.

'You don't. You don't need to be alone in this, you just need to let someone in.'

'You mean you? Jer, you could get killed.' And that was the last thing Bonnie wanted. She had her eyes closed, and was actually enjoying Jeremy's touch.

'Look at this,' he said, and he showed her his right hand, the hand with the ring.

'This ring prevents me from dying by any supernatural cause. It was my dad's.' he said, grinning at the memory.  
Bonnie took his hand in hers and looked at the ring. She started tracing his knuckles and sighed.

'I just don't want to lose you.'

'You won't. And I'm not going anywhere. I meant what I said earlier. I'm not playing games.' Bonnie turned around.

'And what about Care?' she asked, not able to hide that spark of jealousy.

'We're friends. She was just goofing around, because she knows how I feel about you.' Bonnie looked at him with those big brown eyes of her, as if to hear more.

'Remember that I said that I want to be the one you can't take your eyes off?' Bonnie nodded.  
'Because I can't take my eyes off of you. And I want to make you smile and laugh, because I can't help smiling when I'm around you.'

'Jer, I…' but he didn't give her a chance to finish.

'Bonnie, look at me. I am not going anywhere. I promise.' He whispered in a hoarse voice. She was still holding his hand, playing with his fingers.

'I believe you.' She whispered back.

'And there was one more thing I said to you. I meant it back then, I still mean it, and I will always mean it.' His look travelled from her eyes to her lips. He leaned in and ever so softly his lips touched hers. He waited, patiently, for her to respond.

Bonnie had closed her eyes and her hands, that seconds ago had been playing with Jeremy's fingers, travelled over his chest to his neck, where they rested. Their lips were perfectly in sync. The young man's hands were on her back, tracing up and down, and resting on her lower back.  
The kiss started calmly, but soon passion set in and things got a bit heated. Bonnie set her fingers in his hair. Jeremy's tongue darted against her lips, asking permission to enter, something Bonnie granted him soon. Her skin felt electric under Jeremy's touch and their tongues danced around each other. They stumbled towards Bonnie's bed, and Jeremy landed on his back, with Bonnie on top of him. The girl was scouting his chest, whilst their kiss remained unbroken.

The dark haired boy turned them over, so he was on top of Bonnie. Her thighs were straddling his hips while her hands kept discovering Jeremy's body. Her fingertips had reached the hem of his shirt, and goosebumps rose all over his body. Bonnie smiled against his mouth.

'We might want to take this a bit slower.' Suggested Jeremy. Bonnie was surprised at first, but she couldn't disagree. She couldn't even figure out anymore when things got this heated.  
Jeremy sat up and gave Bonnie a chance to do the same.

'Didn't you say you had a lousy chick flick?' he grinned, lips swollen from the kiss they had shared.

'Sure. Come on!' She took his hand again, and lead him back downstairs. Jeremy sat down on the couch while Bonnie put on the movie. She was rearranging something on the small table in front of the couch, when Jeremy put his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

'I don't think I'm ever going to let you go.' He whispered in her ear.

'Promise me one thing: Let's take things slow, see how things go. And don't tell Elena just yet.'

'Yeah… that's probably for the best. So I promise. But I'm still not letting you go.' He held her in his arms, and Bonnie's head rested in the crook of his neck.  
Once again his fingertips were teasing the skin of her neck, raising goosebumps all over her body. Without talking he reached for the blanket at the back of the couch and laid it over her. Bonnie nuzzled even closer to him.

'Remind me again why I doubted this?' she asked him. He chuckled.

'I don't even have a clue, but I'm glad we're here now.' He entwined her fingers with his and pressed a kiss to her head.

*For those who don't know how the game of 'Who Am I?' works: you write a name of somethig/someone on a post-it and tape it on an other person's forehead. ALl people have to ask closed questions about the character that is taped to their own forehead. In this case, Caroline has to figure out she is Zorro, while Jeremy has to guess he's Pikachu


End file.
